Realistic or Modern Zodiac Arc 1: Rise of a General

[TerraBooma]

Ray was busy bleeding off the excess speed he had accumulated in his dive for the first half of the zodiac's words, he was listening, but focusing more on not crashing into anything immediately and suddenly. He didn't know much about flying, except that things took time to slow down...that included him. As he slowed down, he followed Efalgon's instructions, balling up and reaching down towards his toes. Like a suit of armor retracting into nothing, the earth that shielded him crumbled away, and he headed towards the ground....a little faster than intended. Ray hit the ground with a stumble, letting out a "Woah woah woah!?" And tumbling for a few seconds before tripping forward from excess speed and eating pavement. He managed to break his fall with his hands, but he grit his teeth in pain as he his hands slip across the ground. That was going to leave some form of bruise. As he winced and pushed himself up, he was glad to see it wasn't bleeding.

"I'm okay! I'm okay." He let out a sigh and brushed off dirt from where he hit the ground, an embarrassed look on his face. He had been hoping for a more...graceful landing. "I'm uh, more used to running on ice than flying through the air" He sighed again and felt a wave of exhaustion flying through him. He felt like he would after a particularly brutal hockey practice where he was skating non-stop. It..wasn't pleasant. He turned a tired and confused gaze to Efelgon. "You mean all that dream crap actually happened?" He looked hard at the wind spirit, clearly confused...and a bit hurt. "Feels a bit cruel if you ask me, that choice at the end wasn't exactly a good way to start off a relationship you know." His mind was racing with questions, but he was too tired to actually form any of them into actual words. What the hell was going on here? Finally he settled on two questions.

"Okay. Okay fine. I'll roll with this...I woke up floating this morning, I think I'm far past the realm of logic and reason. Three things then, what the hell is a zodiac, what on earth is your name, and...why me? Why us? How come you picked me over some cop or soldier? I'm just an exchange student from Canada." He intentionally directed the questions at Efelgon, he wasn't fond of Nellen's tone, and even less of the way she treated Skylar. To Ray she was just a really pretty lady in a dress, that didn't give her the right to be an ass.

"Skylar, how you holding up?" He looked over after addressing the spirits. "That...thing grabbed you pretty good there, you injured at all?"

 

[DoughGuy]

No inhaler, that was a worry, especially if she was exerting herself. Ken rubbed his chin as he thought through his options. He had to admit foreign policy wasn’t a strong suit of his and he had no clue how things would be handled financially if an ambulance was required. Where was Sam? He was meant to be shadowing the young lady. “Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to visit the university clinic until the exhaustion passes? Then you can retrieve your inhaler when you’re feeling better? I can escort you there if you’d like.” His eyes strayed to the odd pose her arms were in then back to her face.

“You should go little one. There is no need to take this risk.” Gohortzky added.

Upon Lois’ agreement he led her across the square to the university’s clinic. The Zodiac followed silently, but kept an encouraging smile on his face. A small building, compared to the others on campus, situated on the south east corner near the entrance. He led her inside without knocking. They entered a reception room that wouldn’t look out of place in a normal doctor’s office. To their right was a counter and to the left a row of chairs. The main difference was the stack of textbooks that replaced the magazines one would normally find. There were two doors on the opposite wall. One was labelled ‘Surgery’, the other ‘Checkups’. Ken walked up to the checkup room and rapped his knuckles on the door. “Dr Belle.”

The door opened and a young male walked out. “Pardon me.” he said nervously, slipping past Ken. He gave Mori a nervous smile as he walked past her. At the door he stopped to let out a heavy bout of coughing, before leaving the room.

“Don’t forget to use it twice a day!” a soft voice called out from the room. A young lady, not much older than Lois herself, emerged after the boy. “Good morning Ken. Is it still morning?” She had a bright smile and her eyes twinkled with a perpetual joy. “Who is this?’ she asked, turning to look at Lois.

“Miss Lois has forgotten her inhaler and has been exerting herself this morning. Would you mind looking after her until she is feeling better?”

“Not at all! You can leave her in my hands.”

“Thank you. I hope you feel better soon Miss Lois. Farewell.” With his goodbye Ken departed from the clinic leaving the two women.

“How are you feeling Lois?” Mari asked the girl. “No immediate problems breathing? I have an extra inhaler here if you need to use one in an emergency. Feel free to sit anywhere too! Ooh wait Ken didn’t introduce my properly. My name is Mari Belle.” She held out her hand to shake.


0stinato

 

[Segue]

When perfected by Nellen's gifts, Skylar's slender body was gently illuminated from within. That wasn't immediately apparent until the alabaster angel reclaimed its gifts however, and the bruising around her arms and on her cheek abruptly darkened. The pain hit her at the same time; all those blows she had shrugged off in the heat of the moment, the times she'd fallen or been thrown to the ground slammed into her at once. She swayed, but sank her teeth into her bloody lip rather than cry out. Her burning stare was likely not the reverence Nellen is used to, and when she straightens it was Efelgon she chose to speak to. "Never fear, I wasn't going to run heedlessly after some weird alien thing just because I was temporarily winning. The other shoe always drops." She quietened then and listened as her Canadian friend questioned his Zodiac ally, biding her time and doing her best to ignore both pain and the anger pulsing through her veins.

"Good questions all," she agreed when he was done asking them. "I'd like to know what those hollow things were, and why they're suddenly so interested in Ray and I." She clearly had her own suspicions, but couldn't quite ignore the fact that she'd be dead without Nellen's interference. "You said our dreams formed a contract with you Zodiacs, wind-spirit. Which explains why my dreams apparently decided I needed some added humility I suppose," she gave the alabaster statue a bloodshot Evil Look. "How exactly did we make this contract, and what are its terms? And why don't I remember doing anything of the kind?" And what happens if she decides to break this alligator-suit deal? She doesn't ask that last question, but to those with the eyes to see and some understanding of human nature it flashes visibly across her face.

She had a pretty negative impression of the Zodiacs and their tinkering, but even to herself she had to admit that was based mostly on Nellen's behavior. Ray's wind spirit seemed supportive enough, though if he was responsible for her friend's nightmare then there had better be a good explanation for this. At least he seemed to want to education them instead of treating them like disobedient attack puppies. "I'm ok," she said after a moment, limping over to his side. The bruising was only visible where bare skin could be seen, though from the way she's moving her legs have taken some punishment as well. Still, she refused to complain and even offered him a smile through her torn lips that completely failed to reach her eyes. "I am," she insisted and drew herself up. Already she was getting used to the aches (which weren't all that much worse than the last time she took a header off a building) and is able to force herself to accept it the pain and walk normally. "How about yourself, Wind Lord? You looked pretty bad ass, from what I saw!" Ok, there's a gleam of actual humour in her eyes there.

 

[0stinato]

10:45

Following the man, who Lois assumed was pretty important, she went a delicate shade of pink. What a fool she'd made of herself, and what a scene she'd created. Although the actual scene was being made by Mori; Mori, the girl who had been headstrong enough to put herself in danger and not pay attention to Lois' plea to run away. So, as much as Lois hated to see her hurt, it was her choice to stay.

So she slowly walked after the man, her eyes on the ground. She wanted to keep her eyes on something mundane; looking up and seeing the man, the one who called her "little one" following her... she worried she would over-react, or perhaps just stop walking entirely.

Looking at him was like being presented with earplugs for her brain. Things seemed to not matter so much. A sort of lucidity engulfed her and held her steady. It all resonated from the man others couldn't see...

As such, Lois tried to react normally when she met the woman. Mari Belle. Her name tinkled in Lois' head. She doubted she'd forget it.

"Thanks for walking me..." she said flatly to the man, still refusing to meet his eye. Such a child, she was. Standing there like a ten-year-old in trouble. Waiting for someone to tell her something. Waiting for someone to warn her of something.

Although it wasn't someone she was waiting for. She knew whose voice she expected to hear. It was some strange feeling knowing that voice wasn't going to be here.

Instead, Mari had talked to her, and she had to answer.

"I... don't know about using an inhaler that isn't mine, I was always told to just use mine. I don't know why I didn't bring it. I didn't think I'd need it. I'll always bring it tomorrow and stuff though. I can't afford to be without it apparently..." she sat down and risked a glance upwards.

Yes the man had followed, and it took willpower, physical force and a deep breath from stopping herself looking directly at him. Keeping her eyes on Mari, perhaps glaring at her from the effort, she decided to explain.

"I shouldn't have run through the crowd, I got a bit anxious about something. I was always told to get away from things I didn't like. Run away from spiders and things. I didn't want to run away from Mori - she's my roommate - but I... sort of just abandoned her. Well. Not really, I asked her to come with me and she didn't want to. She's probably not scared of it."

Lois pulled on the sleeves of her jumper. Was she alone? With the big man not saying anything, she felt a little alone. But wasn't this what being an adult was about?

She glanced at Mari again; she was a woman, not a girl. She had a life, she had it under control, she had a job whereas Lois was only just learning to grow the hell up. Amazing. Mari was amazing. She wanted to stay with Mari.

Although Lois didn't feel or hear it, her phone buzzed several times as a call tried its best to get through. No voicemail was left.

DoughGuy

Lull had to abandon his own phone in his jacket pocket for fear of throwing it furiously across the store.

 

[Kal]

What fantastical results, explosions of light and displays of power. Amazing, nothing she'd have ever thought to be real, well, not like this. This was beyond anything she'd known. Her ally exclaimed, and Alixce pumped her fist in the air, resonating the same excitement. But the blonde didn't for a moment take her eyes off the dark... dog. It'd taken a good hit, maybe even two, but that was never nearly enough to take an adversary out.

Eyes trained, she watched as, despite its apparent injuries, the dark-dog began to smile. Grin. Wide. Showing off its broken teeth. Alixce braced herself, no-one ever looked that happy unless they'd thought something up. She applied those same rules to what her photography professor had called a hollow. Yet it was not, not hollow of emotions nor of burning motivation to see her end.

All the while, her ears listened to the reason behind the even fight. Against something like that, the way it shifted and was able to manipulate its own body, any human would need an edge. Not like the weapon in her pocket, no, a firearm more like it. But what-- she'd really have to ask for (presumably) his name at a more appropriate time-- the spirit had given her, this... it was like a weapon created against the dark dog. The golden sparkles didn't feel make-shift, haphazard, or desperate. This felt... deliberate.

He ended on a question, a rhetorical question, but Alixce couldn't help herself. She nodded, "Let's get moving, yeah?" As if it heard her, the dark-dog lunged. Like a dark comet, it made a straight shot to her. Pure reflex saved her: launching herself to the right. The dark-dog flew past as Alixce hit the floor, rolling to her feet. She stood with the momentum, pivoting to face her opponent.

Time seemed to slow, nothing unfamiliar to Alixce. These high-adrenaline situations warped time, distorting it for those wrapped up in it. The blonde, in this slowing moment, she took in the dark-dog...

In a way, it was funny looking. Heck, the broken teeth, the slinky-dog power, it could maybe even be called laughable. But... it was that grin. Lacking in teeth, but regardless... Unyielding determination. Alixce felt a small sense of it, respect, forming for the inhuman opponent keeping her on her toes. The type of feeling that only an adversary could give.

She grinned back at it, "Ain't happy your whole 'cute dog' routine had me duped," she confessed, staying on the balls of her feet, shifting her weight back and forth, ready for the dark-dog's next move. "But bravo on your tactics." She matched its moves, backing when moved forward, to her left when it moved to her right, keeping a prescribed distance as she watched in her peripherals for the golden sparkles.

 

[DoughGuy]

7/11/17
Turn Posting Mode
Today’s Schedule
8am to 10am – Waking up
10am to 11am (Duration of Post) – Meet and Greet for the new students with the Student Rep Council
11am to 1pm – Mori and Skylar have miscellaneous classes
2pm to 3:30pm – Ray, Alixce and Lois have miscellaneous classes​

“It’s always good to be prepared.” Mari replied with a determined nod. “Though all of us can be forgetful sometimes! I almost left my pin at home today. Good thing I didn’t, now we match.” She pulled her doctor’s coat to the side and tapped the mushroom shaped pin on her own shirt. “And I won’t make you use the spare inhaler. Not unless you’re in danger. You look pretty calm now so I don’t think that will be an issue.”

The doctor took a seat next to Lois. Gohortzky then put down his table and set up next to her, so Lois could look at the both of them without it being suspicious. He slapped a ball of clay down on the table and began spinning. The shape of a cup quickly emerged. As it spun he pulled out a second piece of clay and began to shape the handle between his palms. “Already I see this is a good woman. It is lucky that you found her little one.”

Mari folded her hands on her lap and listened intently to Lois’ explanation. “It sounds like you might admire your friend Mori a little in how she bravely reacts to scary things. Would you like to be like her?” she flashed an encouraging smile. “It’s natural to be scared of some things and want to run away. But university is a place that’s all about learning. Not just stuff in your head. About learning to be an adult too. That’s a big part of how Crowtree works. That’s why you have your mentors. They’re there to help you with everything.”

“She speaks true. You are young still and have many paths ahead. You can choose to be as you wish. To change or not too.” Gohortzky raised the clay cup and began attaching the handle to its side. “Like this cup. It was once a ball of clay. It had much potential, but had chosen nothing. Now it is a cup because that is what it wanted. It is your choice what you do.”

~***~

“Uh well you see. The contracts have to be formed when you’re at your … no wait.” Efelgon looked up at Nellen for direction. The other zodiac’s expression didn’t change. “We need to see your heart, something like that. There can’t be any lies in the way. Sorry about that but we don’t really have a choice.” He reached up and ‘rubbed’ the back of his head. “I hope we can still be friends.”

After listening to both of them list a number of questions Efelgon gave one final glance towards Nellen. “You need to learn.” was all they had to say.

Efelgon’s head flopped down. Then sprung back up. “Ok that’s a lot! I hope I don’t forget any. Or run out of breath answering them all. Oh wait.” There wasn’t any way for the zodiac to smile so he emphasised the humour by flicking his hands out to the sides.

“Ok so, my name is Efelgon. That’s Nellen. We’re like, otherworldly spirits that can give you powers but can’t do anything in this world ourselves. And we picked you cause you’re like us in some way. Though how is not really up to us to say … even if we know it.” He turned to Skylar. “Contracts are formed cause they’re needed. Or uh, at least the Zodiac determines they’re needed. Something’s going on in the human world we have to interfere with.” He paused and thought for a moment. “It is a little unfair when you put it that way. But we gotta trust it’s for the best. When the dream is over it gets sealed. There aren’t really any terms to it. Like you can do what you want as long as you don’t break the Jailor’s laws. But if you don’t do the thing we need we’re not meant to let you use our powers so if you uh, didn’t want to be involved, you’ll just have to put up with us pestering you. We’re here for a good reason though! You really should help!” And then he looked nervous again. “Well the hollows are kinda here for us. They want to kill you guys before you learn how to use your powers well. But that should tell you how important this is! If the bad guys have that sort of firepower imagine what they could do if you weren’t around.”

Nellen finally spoke to the two hosts. “This is the path you must both walk now. This will not be the last time our foes target you directly for the threat we pose. If you wish to survive you must grow.”

~***~

The sparkles began to slowly build up around Alixce’s arms though not as fast as when she had been walking. After having her match its movements for a minute the Moxig attempted a new tactic. Leaving its hind legs in place it started circling, stretching out its body. It was trying to trap her in a circle of its body.

Hood began circling in the other direction at the same time, showing no indication there was anything to worry about. “Good work so far! But the thing about Moxig’s is they’re pretty good at taking blows. Very bouncy bodies. You hit them and they swing back to hit you. And I think we’re both too busy to spend half an hour with a punching bag. Now you’ve got a pretty sharp mind so I’ll leave it up to you to figure out the right next move.” He hopped into the air and fell onto an invisible hammock to watch the battle.

Like a normal dog it didn’t seem like the Moxig understood her words but did get the tone. Its mouth opened as its smile widened giving her a full view of its ruined mouth. As it did so its rear legs lifted off the ground and swung around like a whip aiming to take out Alixce’s knees while she was hopefully distracted. Then it would pull its upper half back to attack her with its bite, using its malleable body to full effect.

(Feel free to land any blow you want too/even kill the Moxig if you think you can this post, you have control)

 

[0stinato]

10:53

Why was the doctor wearing a pin...? Maybe she had got one from that girl too, from Ariel. Lois made a conscious effort to focus entirely on the pin, and not let her eyes wander to the man...

But as Mari sat down beside her, Lois noticed her scent. It was understated, sort of almost drowned by the cleanliness of the room, but something was there nevertheless. Lois didn't remember being close to someone who smelled so nice. Perhaps it was perfume, maybe shampoo, she wasn't sure. Mori's scent lingered mostly in her room, somewhere Lois didn't really go very often. Lois almost saw this room as Mari's room, not just the room in which Mari worked. She had made her mark here, she had put her roots down, even if the doctor didn't realise.

Lois wasn't sure what to say. This was Mari's place. Mari's chair. Mari's wall... Lois breathed, and breath came easily.

Lull never gave her this, and she wondered why. Perhaps that was because Lull himself was the constant that "belonged" to her. Like this room "belonged" to Mari, Lull "belonged" to her. He was there. Always. Following. Like a cloud. A cloud... with a stink Lois wasn't sure she could bear. Tobacco, sometimes sweat, and always a smell she'd never detected anywhere else in the world. It was almost as if - yes - almost as if his frowns carried with them their own scent. A scent that got stuck in the mind rather than in the throat.

She swallowed, and glanced up at the man. She listened to him. She was lucky. She was over-lucky, even, now that she had someone else to rely on. Mari would be there for her, she'd just said so. And if this man was speaking the truth, then surely Lois wouldn't have much to worry about if she simply stuck with Mari a bit longer... was that what he meant? Find her own path... it was like the dream, focused on the pathways. She had chosen to stay with Lull, which her dream hadn't liked. Maybe it was time to follow the dream, and find her new path. With Mari.

But before she could do that, she had to test something.

She asked, "Are we alone in here?"

She'd have to ask Lull that too. She'd have to ask him if she was alone, next time she saw him. Lois didn't know if she was going mad, with seeing the man who was so clearly expressing some link with her horrid dream, or if this was some other force... so she was doing what she knew best; running for help.

DoughGuy

"I ask you to do one thing, and you don't even do it right. What the fuck are you doing there that's so important you can't even talk to the person who paid for it all. I'm going to fucking kill you when I see you, I'm going to fucking kill you."

 

[TerraBooma]

So...this was their life now? Ray sighed. There was a kernal of anger within him sure, but it was pretty clear that Efelgon was a well meaning wind..spirit. Thing...And he had apologized, and he seemed genuine. "...Fine. We're cool I guess. But you owe me for springing this on me alright?" Ray rose a brow but had an amused smile on his face. He had at least gotten a nice enough...zodiac? thing. Ray let Skylar speak first, before giving her a retort. "I flew just great for my first time thank you very much! Wooshing and swirling all around the place, that weird bird thing didn't stand a chance!" Ray was relatively uninjured in the fight thanks to Efalgon's actual care and earlier intervention, so his spirits were a bit better off. "You sure oyu don't want me to help you take weight off your leg? I mean, I carried you earlier today as it is, I can hardly see how it's any different now." Ray laughed, trying to boost her own spitis with his own mirth. This was an...awkward situation, laughing would be a good way to get through it. "Besides! Once you got into it, that thing you were delaing with got slaughtered! You kicked way more ass than me, I had to use a building to help."

After she spoke, he turned back to Efelgon. Skylar's zodiac seemed to be a bit prissy, so Ray figured not talking to her was fine for him. "So...what's this jailer then? Kind of hard not to break his laws if we don't know what they are in the first place." Ray gave him a puzzled look. "If he's so strong as to have laws we have to follow, can't he just deal with the hollows?"

 

[Kal]

It was a flash: Sparkles and swift limbs against an elongated body with snapping teeth. Each putting in their fair share of blows before, BAM.

Alixce landed on her feet, pivoting in a move. Fists balled up, sparkles dancing at their sides, she watched with practiced breathing as...

"He's not moving..." she grinned, a rush of air escaping her nostrils. "WHOO!" she exclaimed, pumped her fist in the air, and then plopped down on her ass, worn.

Turning her neck to her spirit guide, she laughed, winded, and spoke while hungry for air. "That was like nothing else," she looked again at the motionless hollow, "Man, that... this..." She laughed again, breathing. Then turned to the spirit once again. "I'm..." she forced herself back in her feet shakily, "Alixce," and extended her hand forward.

 

[DoughGuy]

When we last left off the students had just met with their Zodiacs and engaged the hollows in battle. Some had won, some were ongoing, and one was talking to a doctor. To smooth the transition over we’ll skip ahead a few hours. All the fights were completed with the students victorious, and with the help of the Zodiacs they have all convened together in an unused classroom. They all understand their powers enough to have a decent control over them.

Raymond TerraBooma
Zodiac: Efelgon

Appearance: An oval of stone containing a molten core, surrounded by a humanoid wind spirit.

Heaven and Hell Rank 1 – Sky and Earth
From the light of Heaven they draw forth the ability to fly with poor manoeuvrability. From the depths of Hell they draw forth a thin skin of stone to cover their body, adding some protection against attacks and some additional power to their own.

Lois 0stinato
Zodiac: Gohortzky

Appearance: Gohortzky appears as an enormous human being. Their chest and arms are bulging with muscles but their lower body is quite thin. Their hands are covered in dripping clay and waterskins are strapped around their waist. They always carry a pottery wheel with them and work upon it while conversing with their host, putting it away for battles. They remain bare chested with dirty work pants. A strikingly large grey handlebar moustache completes their form.
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd....089/12F81436EC11A2C3B488C9F6B110D91AEF07237F/

The First Kiln Rank 1 – Unmoulded
The Host’s soul has yet to find its true shape and is unmoulded like wet clay. Yet this power can be used, pulling the soul to the body and merging the two. The Host can turn their body into an amorphous clay that they can shape with their mind. They must keep a humanoid shape.

Mori AiDee
Zodiac: Oomloof

Appearance: Oomloof has the appearance of a fat man with a pig’s head (OW Chinese New Year Roadhog Skin). A very fat man. He resembles a ball. He wears a torn military uniform that basically only covers his shoulders and groin. A rather puny looking sword is strapped to his hip. He belches often and carries around a variety of sweet pork buns and Chinese pastries. Yet never eats any.

To Leave the World Behind Rank 1 – Trapped Within
The Host manifests two sword from their wrists that run parallel to their arms. On the left, a red tinted, hollow glass blade, on the right, the same but green. When the red blade strikes a foe it absorbs their anger, filling with red liquid into the glass, and passes it onto the host. When the green blade strikes it absorbs the jealousy, filling with green liquid, and passes it on. The more liquid within each blade the more anger and jealousy the host feels. In addition, as the Host gathers anger their body begins to heat up, eventually catching fire and harming anyone else who touches it. As they gather jealousy they begin to glow in the minds of their foes, becoming a juicy target for weak minded hollows. The energy slowly dissipates while the blades are not in use.

Alixce Kal
Zodiac: Hood

Appearance: Hood is covered by a black cloak that reaches down to their waist. The front is always buttoned up so nothing beneath it can be seen. Whether they actually have arms or just swing their sleeves around is an unknown. Their legs are covered by grey bandages wrapped so tightly around the skin they may as well be the skin. They wear quite elvish looking white shoes that have an upturned point at the tip. Their face is obscured by a flap of fabric hanging from the hood. They have stuck two white circles as eyes and a crescent moon as a mouth into the fabric.

The World is my Plaything Rank 1 – A little touch of it all
If you want to try everything you have to start at the bottom. The Host steals energy, the base of any activity, from the world through their movement. The energy appears as golden sparkles that float around their wrists and arms. The energy can be expended as a whip attack or as a defensive shield that explodes when broken. All energy on an arm is expended when an attack or shield is used.

The group also has a general idea of the Zodiacs. They know they are beings from another dimension called limbo. They have been told they have each formed a contract with their Zodiac, a process that was deliberately shocking and painful to ensure the Zodiac saw their host’s heart before they completed it. The humans, unfortunately, did not get a choice. Something is happening in the human world causing more hollows to appear in the area. The Zodiacs have formed their contracts to fight the hollows and stop whatever is going on. The hollows they fought so far were sent to kill the students before they could master their powers, hinting that someone is out there leading it all. There are no terms to the contract, apart from not using your powers where others can see. But as long as you have one you are a target.

Alixce alone knows Professor Arlindou can see the Zodiacs and Hollows, something everyone else has been told only Hosts can do. Whether she shares this information is her choice.

The next IC post will be coming soon.

 

[DoughGuy]

7/11/17
Free Posting Mode
Today’s Schedule
8am to 10am – Waking up
10am to 11am– Meet and Greet for the new students with the Student Rep Council
11am to 1pm (Duration of Post) – Mori has miscellaneous classes You guys are skipping classes for this
2pm to 3:30pm – Ray, Alixce and Lois have miscellaneous classes​

The group of eight had found their way into an unused classroom in the main building, on the east wing. Things were quiet as people had settled in for their classes, and the meet up had ended. The Zodiacs had finished their explanation of events, Efelgon and Gohortzky doing most of the talking, and were now waiting for the students to reply. The former was standing at the front of the room, displaying a heavy nervousness despite the lack of face and transparentness of his body. The latter had returned to take a ‘seat’ beside Lois. Hood was walking around the room, poking their head through walls and overall just exploring. And Oomloof was lounging in the corner twirling the pork buns in his giant hands.

“So um yeah, that’s about it. Can’t say too much cause the Jailor has some pretty strict rules. But uh, we can try to answer any questions.” Efelgon finished up.

 

[0stinato]

With her finger preoccupied slowly scraping loose paint flakes from the nearby windowframe, Lois could only imagine that this whole experience was one big dream. Whether it was a malicious dream or an enjoyable dream she had not worked out yet, and her eyes, unfocused and staring, drifted as she considered the events.

Stress was playing a major part in her consideration; before, when Mori and she were speaking to Ariel, and that strange balloon-creature was following them. After that, things got... blurry, though she remembered unfalteringly the unnaturally rough grip of those tendrils, and the gaping maw of that empty space that was suddenly filled with matter, teeth and fear. And she'd left Mori behind and run. Running was the bad idea; her lungs still hurt, as if they were covered in a fine layer of grit.

She swallowed involuntarily. She hadn't died. But, in thinking that, clearly she was assuming death was part of the equation... this was looking more and more like a bad dream.

When Gohortzky lowered his top-heavy body beside her, she stirred. She reacted to that; that was the good portion of the dream, of the denial of the reality. Her rationality and imagination spun like a top in her mind, intertwining, becoming as necessary to her understanding of the situation as centripetal and centrifugal force would be to the top. Neither one able to make the top spin alone, her rationality blended with her imagination, and her imagination lent her wild rationalisation.

The mouth creature and the balloon creature weren't here. Everything seemed overly-tranquil. Her gaze, having been subjected to far too much already, didn't falter when it fell upon the other impossible creatures. Some were humanoid, but apparently the one who had become the primary spokesperson, aside from Gohortzky, was the least humanoid of all of them; it had a body, yes, but the stone within it was where Lois assumed its voice was coming from. Was the human figure surrounding the stone the stone's creation? Or was the thing sentient itself?

Despite everything, Lois had no questions. Everything she wanted to know had been covered already, and there was no point in repeating. It made sense, it made sense somewhere in her mind.

She wanted to say something though. She wasn't deaf or mute, and the floor was open for questions. Silence was one thing she didn't desire to wallow in at the moment.

"Um, are you going to keep us safe? I know you said about powers but... are you going to keep us all safe?" she said. Clumsy. Efelgon looked more nervous than she felt; the stiff, yet vulnerable way it stood, not moving much, confirmed that for her. Gohortzky didn't look so nervous... and when he was speaking in the explanation she almost felt as if she was being medicated. Sluggish, contented, dreamy.

Lull had ditched the footpaths in favour of the more subtle route through the trees to the campus. He moved effortlessly past them, his footfalls lighter than usual, and barely a twig snapped as he went. It wasn't the first time he was trying to travel unnoticed.

 

[Kal]

Strict rules, eh? Alixce has always thought of a ghost, or spirit, realm (if it existed) as having rules of nature. But, no, it seemed the same politics that plagued different faucets of human life came to play here too.

She heard the girl's question, and felt her heart sway towards her. It wasn't fair to throw civilians into the fray and ask them to know what to do. That gave her an idea, "And what about training? To become more effective with our..." powers? Uh, no, how about, "gifts." That wasn't too much better. Not that a perfect name was in her set of skills, anyway. One of the others was bound to tie their abilities to a nifty word.

The blonde's stomach gurgled soundlessly. She flicked her eyes over to the pork buns... Alixce wasn't one to rudely impress herself upon a host, or in this case, not the host but a pig-faced (pig-masked?) spirit, but the fight had not only been long, but had taken quite a toll of energy from her. "Any chance you have a spare one or two of those?"

 

[AiDee]

Mori felt like the unused classroom had a certain type of air to it. It felt overwhelmingly and too early to be talking to people about Zodiacs and Limbo. It was more about the fact that Mori was unable to wrap her head around the situation. The girl was perched on a desk directly next to Oomloof. With one swift motion, she crossed her legs and leaned back. Tapping her foot in the air, Mori refrained from saying anything while the zodiacs talked. With a quick scan of the room, she recognized a few faces and her roommate. Lois still seemed to shaken up from the experience. With what she had to deal with, Mori guessed that her meek and nervous nature was not sitting still for this situation.

"Lolo!" Mori intercepted after Alixce, "You don't need to worry about them protecting us!" She rolled up the sleeves of her track jacket and revealed the teddy bear that was pinned on her, "I hate running" shirt, "I'll keep us safe whether it's some bullies or shadows!" What Mori intended to do was calm the poor girl's nerves, she might have put on a huge responsibility on herself, but it was for the best. The Aoki girl scanned the room and noticed the blonde with a face that resembled a white Japanese anemone flower. With her head tilted, she kept an eye on the girl as she gestured to the pork buns.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she realized that the white anemone was asking for food. Mori's eyes brightened and she looked at the group. Food is the best for bonding. With excited eyes and a innate need for food, she sprung out the idea, "We should head out to the cafeteria and get some food so we can fully comprehend this. It's like that one saying...'Food for a thought'...right?"

 

[TerraBooma]

Ray had been quietly taking in all the information that he could while the zodiacs were explaining. Efelgon seemed the most talkative...which was good, if Ray had to be stuck with a seemingly endless contract without his consent, at least his partner was willing to have something close to a conversation. The bundle of air seemed more like a bundle of nerves at times, and honestly Ray couldn't help but feel kinda bad for the guy. The trial thing that he had put him through still had him...a little bit annoyed, but he was intending to set that aside for now. They'd...talk about it later.

The other zodiacs were just as freaky, the giant pig guy, the hooded figure. Not to mention his own Zodiac's windy form. The motly crew was just strange in general, and the boy found himself trying to process a lot. His fight had gone relatively well, having to learn how to skate had taken him time, and he was sure that learning to fly would take time too, even if it was a bit tricky to start thinking in three dimensions. He knew speed was important...so he planned to focus on that at first. At the mention of more training however, even to protect himself, his own stomach rumbled and he found himself nodding along with Mori.

"Mori's right, we could all use some food right now. And I for one am starving, so it sounds like a good plan." The hockey player gave Efelgon a look that said "I still have more questions" before turning to the group. "So uh...anyone have objections to grabbing food? If we're in public it doesn't look like we'll get attacked, so somewhere notoriable probably ain't a bad idea.

 

[DoughGuy]

7/11/17
Free Posting Mode
Today’s Schedule
8am to 10am – Waking up
10am to 11am– Meet and Greet for the new students with the Student Rep Council
11am to 1pm (Duration of Post) – Mori has miscellaneous classes You guys are skipping classes for this
2pm to 3:30pm – Ray, Alixce and Lois have miscellaneous classes
​

“We can’t keep you safe directly. We’re too limited in this realm. But we can give you the power to protect yourselves, and each other.” Oomloof replied to the first question raised, his face darkening for a split second.

Beside Lois Gohortzky flexed and gave Lois a bright smile. “And with me by your side you’ll have everything you need for that! My little clay ball you are nigh impossible to harm once you master your power.”

“Which will take training yes!” Efelgon piped up. “Training is the best way to get a handle on things. You always gotta do it in private though. We might be invisible to ordinary people but the things you can do with our help aren’t!”

“But it’s your choice to make. We can’t force you to practice.” Oomloof added.

“Of course why would you not want too? The power to shape the world is at your fingertips. Who would turn away from that?” Hood had somehow hooked his heels on top of the air conditioner and was swinging from side to side, his sleeves hanging limply and swaying with him.

“Ah but enough of this work! The hosts want food, and food they shall get. It’s what’s inside that matters after all!” He paused and patted his belly. “And what’s inside should be good, strong food.” And with that he started laughing.

“We can follow you wherever.” Efelgon added. ”And if it’s crowded there we can probably all talk without being suspicious still.”

With a flip Hood jumped off the air conditioner and landed beside Alixce, “Let’s go see the food!”

 

[0stinato]

Lois' stomach was too knotted to feel hunger pangs, but she stood up with everyone else. Putting on a smile as she considered Gohortzky's words, she knew that smile was only skin deep, and that her mind was stuck in a no-man's-land of thought. Unfamiliar location, unfamiliar people, knowing only Mori, but even then that connection was young. She took a half-step closer to Gohortzky as she walked with the group, stealing a glance at him.

So he'd teach her a way of keeping herself safe. Unable to be hurt. It sounded uneventful at first, but now she wondered how far that protection would reach.

"Would my power, whatever it is, get rid of my asthma?" she said, the joke actually managing to settle her mind a bit. It was unexpected, but with the quip came a sense of normality.

The smile she wore burrowed into her more. It wouldn't be long until it reached her core, and she'd be comfortable once again. She'd have to enjoy that sensation as well as she could, for as long as possible.

She supposed they were going to the cafeteria. It was a bit early to eat, she supposed. The seminar she was supposed to have she'd missed... though she supposed the excuse was sound. How was she supposed to go a seminar in this state, with Gohortzky swaggering around with her? Even if he was invisible to others, as the Zodiacs had said, it didn't mean anything... she couldn't concentrate on Mari before, she wouldn't be able to concentrate in a class either.

She looked at Mori. There was a girl who knew what she was doing. Lois gave her a smile, and raised a thumb to the teddy bear pin. She'd have spoken if she hadn't been grabbed by the shoulder.

It was a violent touch - fingertips dug into her nerves so she was powerless to defend herself as she was pulled backwards. She witnessed an ugly snarl, narrowed grey eyes.

"Do you have your phone on you?" said Lull, his right hand holding her in place.

For a second, she couldn't speak, until she managed a, "Y...es?"

"Then why didn't you answer it?! You fucking idiot, answer when I call you!"

She could only look at him. Her mind was numb, empty. His eyes moved until he was looking beyond her.

"I knew this was a mistake," he muttered, bitterness so audible Lois hung her head. "Answer your phone whenever I call you, do you understand me? Lois, do you understand me?!"

He wanted her attention, so she had to give him it. She gazed into his eyes, which were sparking and bright with anger, and nodded.

 

[TerraBooma]

Ray considered himself a pretty relaxed guy. It took a bit to get a rise out of him, and he generally had a pretty calm demeanor and a friendly, sportsmanlike attitude towards others. But as this random guy he didn't know started to berate Lois, his stomach soured. There was one thing he really couldn't stand, and that was people who were bullies. Channeling that soured energy into a small frown, Ray physically stepped between Lull and Lois.

Back at home in hockey, Ray had always been vaguely familiar with the concept of goons. The long and short of it was a team member who was meant to rough up people trying to beaten up your star, and as someone who often had been the star of his team, Ray had actually known one, a big bruiser of a fellow teen named Ryan, who took hits and dished em out just as hard. He was a nice guy off the ice, but he had intimidated Ray when they were both on the rink. Now though, Ray was glad he'd seen the time of person who could stand up to angry looking guys, it gave him some confidence.

"Hey! Back off!" Ray declared after a moment to pause for words, he didn't know how this guy knew lois, or...even really know Lois, but he didn't like the way that he was talking to her. "Who the hell you think you are to order her around like that? Maybe try not being a total asshole to start a conversation with people." Ray's eyes sparked with an anger of his own, he wasn't going to let his new host-partner-teammate...person, get attacked like that out of the blue. "So yeah, she missed a phone call, you try leaving a text or something? Maybe voice mail? People get busy. It happens." Ray had his fists clenched at his side, but not raised. This guy was big...and he didn't want to get into a fight.

But there were some things you just couldn't let stand.

 

[AiDee]

Once a man with a bizarre appearance had approached the group, Mori felt a sense of danger creeping up to her. Whoever he was, he was speaking to Lois in an informal manner and quite rudely too. Ray was having none of it, his fist was clenched like he was ready to punch the lights out of him. The urge to punch someone brought back the memories of when she first encountered Oomloof and punching her brother.

Punching her brother did not work in her favor.

She took a step forward and placed a hand on Ray's shoulder, "What my friend is trying to say, we would appreciate if you would not try and scare Lois." Mori crossed her arms, her fingers brushing against the teddy bear pin.

 

[Kal]

Alixce grinned. Hood's enthusiasm was infectious. The blonde's heart pumped, this newfound power offering her a new range of ability she'd never before had access too. What more, before, from what Hood had said: This was only the beginning. One could but fathom...

The range of neutral to positive responses to training invigorated the woman. "Lone training I'd already had in mind," Alixce acknowledged, "But I think we," she gestured to the 'hosts,' a word that felt foreign in terms of self-reference, let alone her gifted fellows, "could benefit from a weekly, bi-weekly at least, training together," she suggested. "Somewhere discrete, of course."

And broke into a cheeky smile hearing another stomach rumble. She nodded the affirmative to her Zodiac, nimbly landing beside her.

Blip.

Alixce raised an eyebrow, mild surprise. Each family member and friend had their own sound. She ran her own schedule over in her head, and... nothing. I haven't missed anything, and it's not five yet... Curious, she pulled out her phone and read the text.

It was just a second. She'd looked down but a second, but suddenly a jarring voice demanded her head back up. A split-second more to take in the scene-- "Lull...?" What was her roommate doing here? That was a passing question as understanding dawned. Her features set, stern.

A pop of eyebrows were all that betrayed her amazement. Her lip just barely twitched upwards, before maintaining a practiced, hardened look. Right to action. She herself stepped forward, close enough to lunge into action. Need be, that was. Her eyes trading between Ray and Lull, reading expression and body.

But, she had to move her fist. All a'sudden, bringing it right up. Just so over her lips, hiding a burgeoning smile, actively attempting to smother it to its former hard straight line. Her, too. Before, Alixce hadn't given thought as to why the other hosts had been chosen. As she smiled into her fist, as ready as ever to act if it were to all go south, she still saw it-- perhaps a shine of what laid beneath, a hint to the reason.

This is promising.

 

[0stinato]

The Zodiacs had said they wouldn't be able to interfere with anything while other people were around... it would look strange to them. Unbelievably strange, Lois supposed. And from what Gohortzky had said specifically, her power was protecting herself into an invulnerable clay. She had no clue what it'd look like, only the vague memories of her dream inspired any assumption, so no wonder the Zodiacs were staying quiet. What could they do?

Her friends weren't staying quiet though. Ray, then Mori, then Alixce, they all stood before her brother. And of course, Alixce recognised him... Lois had forgotten about that.

It was them versus him. Ray had supposed he was standing up for her, Lois thought. Mori was supporting Ray, also believing she was helping Lois. And Alixce... well, she was banding together and showing her strength too.

Lull facing her, exactly like the dream. I made you. Why didn't you answer?

Lois blinked wet eyelashes, and tears began to eat away at her mascara as she watched the scene.

Lull remained quiet while the three began blocking his trajectory. His expression had undergone many changes, from heightened fury, to derision and was settled at the moment to hatred.

"Mori," Lull said, and his voice speaking her friend's name made Lois' body tighten, "you've been sharing your space with her a while now," he spoke calmly, though not looking at any of them. "Surely you've noticed she always - always, for fuck's sake - answers her phone as soon as it rings. I need to know she's okay, that she's alive, that she's not making stupid decisions. But here she is, making stupid decisions. And nothing will get into her head if I don't make it explicitly clear. Do you understand me?"

"And you," his attention turned to Ray. Lull advanced on him, taking a step forward, leaning into Ray's face, "I'm her brother, and I have every right to speak to her any way I want to. But you? I've never heard her mention your name. You're irrelevant, you degenerate."

"I should have called you back, I'm sorry! Just stop this now! I don't want this, I just..." Lois finally managed to steady her voice enough to express herself, but found her train of thought far too unwieldy to vocalise.

"Then pick up the phone in future! Jesus! Oh God, I walked out of work for this, stupid..." a hand went to Lull's head as he struggled not to call his sister something awful. His eyes opened again and he glanced at Alixce. "Since you know her, some-fucking-how, you better keep an eye on her. I'll make it up to you. Don't you dare screw me over."

Behind it all, Lois felt like she was three inches tall. She felt like Alice, when she shrank herself and began weakly paddling around in a pool of her own tears; her face was a mess, smudged mascara and a forehead corrugated with self-pity. She backed away to the wall, glancing up more often than she wanted to, afraid to say another word for fear of the uncertainty; whose side did she belong on?

No one could answer that for her.

 

[TerraBooma]

Ray had stood his ground even when Lull had been up in his face, the older man cutting an imposing figure, but Ray held a determined glare until the very end, where it gave away to...confusion. Fortunately, by the time this look had registered fully on his face, Lull had been speaking to Alixce. Was he...really just some outsider looking in on this? He looked back towards the others as Lull turned around to leave, a grateful nod to Mori. If not for her reassuring hand, he might've acted a bit more recklessly than he should, and even if he was a bit of a douche bag...well, really more of a total dick in Ray's opinion he figured Lois might not've liked him punching her brother that much.

After he left, Ray turned around to Lois, rubbing the back of his head. "Listen I uh...sorry bout that Lois. I...didn't know he was your brother. Still." Ray glances back over his shoulder, making sure Lull was gone. "That's just...not right. The way he was talking to you. People shouldn't talk like that in- wait are you crying oh god I'm sorry." Ray gulped and moved up beside her. "Hey uh...sorry bout that. Honest. You going to be okay?"

There was a pretty clear look of concern on his face. And he felt pretty bad since he seemed to have made her cry.